Leicester Tigers' move for South African back-row Wessel Jooste is in doubt due to visa issues.

With Craig Newby and Ben Woods retiring in recent weeks, Richard Cockerill has moved to bolster his back-row options and teed up Jooste as an adequate replacement. Jooste was turning out for Bourgoin but has left the French side who are currently in the midst of financial difficulties.

Jooste is available to sign for the Tigers but Cockerill has revealed that the move has hit the buffers.

"Wessel has had his visa application turned down because he didn't quite fill out the information properly," Cockerill told the Leicester Mercury. "The application process is pretty arduous. He has re-applied for that though, and we are waiting for the results, which I am hoping we will receive soon."

With their back-row resources depleted, the Tigers have recently tied up deals for Brett Deacon and Richard Thorpe and are on the verge of bringing in Michael Noone.